1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to automated dispatch systems, and more particularly to an immediate next task dispatch system and method.
2. Description of the Related Art
An automated dispatch system assigns a plurality of tasks to a plurality of workers working for a service provider. Each task is associated with a set of task parameters, such as task location, technical requirements, duration, etc. Likewise, each worker is associated with a set of worker parameters, such as known skills, work schedule, work area, etc. The automated dispatch system receives the task parameters and worker parameters and uses matching and minimization algorithms to create a task list for each worker. Each task list associates a set of tasks to a worker according to a dispatch priority, and the tasks are dispatched to the worker according to the dispatch priority. The system periodically generates new task lists during the work day to account for dynamics such as the worker completing dispatched tasks, new tasks, and so on. As a result of these dynamic loads, a worker's task list may change periodically throughout the day.
The service provider may desire that a particular task be an immediate next task dispatched to the worker. However, manually assigning a particular task to the worker in an automated dispatch system does not always ensure that the particular task will be the immediate next task dispatched to the worker, as the automated dispatch system may still insert other tasks before the manually assigned task based on task priority, minimization criteria, and other factors. Furthermore, when a service provider manually assigns more than one task to a worker, the system cannot ensure that any one manually assigned task will be the immediate next task assigned.